


apricots + peaches

by egeria



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Diary/Journal, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Post-Canon, clown to clown communication, just guys being dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egeria/pseuds/egeria
Summary: I realize this is probably not what my therapist had in mind when she told me to keep a diary. I think this was supposed to be for recording my feelings.But what am I supposed to do when my life is consumed by getting Zuko and Sokka together?--or: suki chronicles the adventures of trying to get zuko and sokka together
Relationships: Azula/Suki (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 159
Collections: HZH Palentine's Day 2021





	apricots + peaches

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CSHfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSHfic/gifts), [VSfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VSfic/gifts).



> happy valentine's day!! for CSHfic and VSfic, who deserve the world. love y'all.
> 
> thank you so much to [shen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aiyah/pseuds/aiyah) for helping me come up with an idea, screaming with me, yelling at me, and helping me edit. literally could not live without u.
> 
> this is different than what i normally write, but this was super fun. enjoy!

**_Seventh Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ Rather uneventful day. Zuko was almost murdered in the twenty steps between his bathtub and the toilet. (Right? Who has a bathroom that large— it’s ridiculous.) It was quite an unfortunate situation, but I think he was so enraged at their audacity that he took care of the assassin before we even got there.  _

_ In other news, I also learned that Fire Lord Zuko has a tattoo in the shape of a cat shark on his ass. I made the mistake of asking about it during our late-night briefing. He spat rice wine all over the floor. _

_ — _

**_Tenth Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ We had a long, extensive training today on how to kill someone without leaving a mess. This is after Daiyu took down that cell of Ozai supporters who infiltrated the palace in a very effective, very lethal, and very disgusting manner that left the cleaning stuff quite angry. Apparently, one of the curtains in the general vicinity was a few hundred years old and a family heirloom.  _

_ (Do you know how long it takes to get bloodstains out of hundred-year-old silk? Basically impossible.) _

_ Ty Lee told me, though, that when she brought this up to Azula, the Princess just said that the Fire Lady at the time was a bore who had bad taste, so. I don’t think the royal family is that concerned.  _

_ The training went well, and we got to practice on a drunk but somewhat powerful noble who decided to steal back a different heirloom. Zuko told me this noble is his fourth cousin, so, like. I guess he had a bit of a claim to it? _

_ Except now he’s in prison.  _

_ So.  _

_ — _

**_Eleventh Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ Ty Lee and I went out to a local bar with Mai. They have live music and the drinks are delicious. I didn’t drink that much since my shift starts at sunrise, but Mai and Ty Lee got absolutely plastered. They started talking about their childhoods and all I have to say is there aren’t enough therapists in the world to deal with their trauma.  _

_ Mai kept hinting at me that I should go spend more time with Azula, but I can’t figure out the motive? Even Ty Lee seemed too enthusiastic, and I can’t blame it on the sugary cocktail she was throwing back. I never really see Azula anyways. The last time I saw her, she was trying on dresses for some sort of royal event (something with all of the world leaders? Maybe? I should probably know more about what rich people do.) _

_ Anyways, she’d asked me about my opinion, and I honestly told her that the second one was an absolute banger. I think I made her mad, though, because her face got strangely red. _

_ Later, I had to drag them back to Mai’s, where I decided to dump Ty Lee for the night because she could barely stand upright and I’d worked my arms out the day before so I was already a bit sore.  _

_ When I got back to the palace, guess who I saw sneaking out of the kitchens still in their work clothes?  _

_ He swore that he was going to bed, but he was definitely heading in the opposite direction of his chambers, the sly little bastard.  _

_ I literally tucked Zuko into bed. Escorted him in and got him nice and cozy. And stole half of his sweets as payments.  _

_ — _

**_Sixteenth Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ Busy past few days. Apparently, it somehow got leaked to Sokka that people were trying to murder Zuko, and he sailed all the way up here completely uninvited to check up on him.  _

_ Imagine. Just imagine. You’re the Fire Lord. It’s been a busy day. You just got cussed out by your distant relative who’s also somehow the Minister of Transportation despite probably having never ridden anything other than a palanquin. You’re eating dinner in your private seating area. There’s a pleasant fire going. You’re reading some obscure play from the Fire Lord Hu era, when all of the sudden, out of nowhere, your door bursts open and your best friend from the Southern Water Tribe who you haven’t seen in months bursts in, sword drawn, panicked.  _

_ Zuko, for his part, just choked on his dumpling. Which unfortunately just made Sokka’s panic worse. _

_ I admit to you, dear diary, that I could’ve stepped in. I could’ve helped.  _

_ But instead, I stood there and watched. _

_ And I enjoyed every single moment of it. _

_ After that clusterfuck, I’ve had to try and entertain Sokka while Zuko is in meetings because, shocker, Zuko didn’t block off his calendar. Because Sokka. Didn’t announce. He was coming. _

_ The idiot. _

_ So for the most part, I’ve had him training with girls and having them practice kicking ass on him. It’s been very beneficial. For both the girls. And Sokka. I think. _

_ — _

**_Nineteenth Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ This assassin was from the Earth Kingdom, which is a lot more exciting and fresh. It’s a bit dull when the followers of Zuko’s dad keep trying to kill him. Like, we get it, you want to give him more daddy issues than he already has. _

_ Unfortunately for the Earth Kingdom assassin, he had the wrong info. See, Zuko used to sleep in the room for the crown prince. But after a couple of years, Toph came and just completely redid the Fire Lord’s suite so Zuko could comfortably stay there without thinking about He Who Shall Not Be Named. After he moved into his new and improved fancy rooms, Azula took his old rooms. Apparently they’re nicer than wherever she was staying. _

_ I’m sure you get where I’m going with this. _

_ Yes, diary. The dumbass broke into Azula’s rooms. _

_ No, diary. He did not make it out alive. _

_ In other news, Azula is leading the next seminar on how to kill people without leaving a mess. She did a very good job. Tens all across the board.  _

_ (When I told her this, she blushed? What does this mean?) _

_ — _

**_Twentieth Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ Sokka dragged Zuko and me out to the market today, which was just a bit obnoxious. I think he just wanted to forget about the incident from yesterday, and he clearly has no idea how much paperwork both Zuko and I have to do as a result.  _

_ I almost said no, but Zuko seemed so eager to go, and the only other person I could even think to guiltlessly sic on them was Ty Lee, but she had the day off and was probably off drinking on the beach with Mai. _

_ Thus, I was forced out into the marketplace and compelled to watch Zuko drop all of his money on Sokka. Like, okay, we all can agree the wealth of monarchies is unethically acquired, right? Sure, that’s who pays my salary, but you don’t see me having Zuko buy me random shit. _

_ Sokka, though, who I’ve personally heard rant and rave about the immorality of monarchies, eats this shit up. We had to literally summon a servant to help carry his new things back to the palace. Like this ridiculously expensive piece of jasper that was carved to look like a piece of meat. I wanted to throw it into the turtleduck pond, but Ty Lee was there, so I didn’t. _

_ Which, alright. I’m a little suspicious. Zuko seemed so happy to do this. He genuinely looked excited to purchase all of these items for Sokka.  _

_ Is this a result of like, social deprivation? Is this what happens when you live on a ship for three years with a bunch of drunkards as an impressionable teen? _

_ Only time will tell. _

_ — _

**_Twenty-first Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ Time has told. _

_ I admit, dearest diary, that I am sometimes an idiot. People always seem to think I have my love life together. I don’t. I’m only somewhat-okay at flirting. Most of what it is is just me being very confident in myself. The rest is just luck. _

_ Me being confident in myself does not translate to me understanding the signals. _

_ And boy, did I miss the signals Sokka and Zuko were giving off. _

_ I was gossiping with the girls by the fountain, and I told them all about our adventures yesterday at the market. _

_ Then Ty Lee just sighed and went, “Wow, it’s ridiculous how they aren’t together yet. It’s so obvious.” _

_ And everyone agreed. _

_ And I just sat there like an idiot. Because. Of fucking course.  _

_ They both have a crush on each other. _

_ I’m now sitting here, panicking a bit, wondering what I should do. Obviously I have to try and get them together. Right? Because otherwise, they’ll just pine after each other like idiots for the rest of their lives. _

_ Spirits, they’re literally such idiots. _

_ And one of them runs a country. _

_ — _

**_Twenty-seventh Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ Sorry for the absence. Not much happened, other than me being a sly bitch and plotting. _

_ You heard me. Plotting. _

_ Here’s how it started. Note, this is all spread out over a few days. I’m a busy person, I can’t just spend all day scheming. _

_ The day after my Big Realization, I had tea with Mai and Ty Lee, as usual. Luckily, as these are the people who imprisoned me and then were soon imprisoned in that exact same prison themselves, I have a sort of camaraderie with them that I don’t have with everyone else. And while I have a close bond with the other girls, there’s just something about shit talking Zuko with his childhood best friends that just hits the spot. _

_ Anyways, back to the point. I admitted how I missed the Zuko and Sokka love situation, to which Mai responded with “Not too surprising, all things considered.” And gave me some weird knowing look. Like, her face was blank. But it was knowing. _

_ I have no idea what that means, but I decided not to press it. The goal here is Zuko and Sokka. _

_ So. We all agree they won’t get together on their own. And Sokka has decided to stay for a couple of months in order to ensure that ‘the shitty Ozai sympathizers all die and burn.’ His words, not mine. _

_ I prefer not burning people. And Zuko usually just locks them up in jail. _

_ Anyways. _

_ While Sokka is here, we’re going to try and force them to spend some time together. They already spend a decent amount, but they could always do more, you know? And make the situations romantic. Trick them into going on a picnic, maybe watch the sunset over the ocean. Stuff like that.  _

_ The plan commences tomorrow.  _

_ — _

**_Twenty-eighth Day of the Apricot Month_ **

_ Day 1 consisted of me taking them to one of the vineyards located outside of the city, where they make wine out of a fruit called ‘grapes’. I’ve never had a grape, but it looks pretty good, so I’m not judging.  _

_ It should be noted that this was Sokka’s idea. He’d supposedly had some of this grape beverage before and wanted Zuko to try it— apparently, the fact that Zuko only drinks rice wine is criminal to him.  _

_ We were only about two glasses in (yes, I was drinking on the job. Sue me.), when Zuko started… sweating? Turning a strange shade of red? (What am I? A healer?) _

_ We were all concerned, but he sometimes turns weird colors when he drinks, so no one brought it up. There was one time where we all got absolutely plastered and I swear Zuko looked like a tomato. _

_ “Isn’t this nice?” I asked, twirling the grape beverage around in my cup. _

_ “Super nice. Great view,” Sokka said. _

_ “I think I’m allergic to grapes,” Zuko responded. _

_ Which, of course, threw us all into an absolute frenzy because the Fire Lord had just ingested something he’s allergic to. Could you imagine me having to explain to the Dragon of the West that I killed his nephew via fruit? Iroh is sweet, but I have no question that he’d just kill me right then. _

_ Sokka started forcing water down his throat, which honestly I don’t think helps the situation, while one of the other guards ran around looking for a particular herb that apparently helps with allergic reactions.  _

_ Twenty minutes later and the situation was somewhat better, but I think Sokka was too mortified to even exist. I mean, it had been his idea. So I get it. _

_ Day 1 of plan: not a success. _

_ — _

**_First Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ Ty Lee has decided to train turtleducks to attack on call. I have no idea why. But now she has a hoard of turtleducks who follow her around the courtyard. The biggest one is named Duckie. That’s all I know about them. _

_ She summoned Azula and me to come watch them do some tricks. Well, I hadn’t known Azula would be there, but when I walked in she was sitting (very regally, I might add) in the shade. She looked startled to see me and shot Ty Lee a glare, which I thought was a bit offensive. I’ve only been nice to the princess, so I really don’t see why she’d dislike me. _

_ (It should be noted, I also don’t know why I care so much if she likes me or not. I mean, she’s sweet to me, and also kind of scary, which is fun. I’ll analyze this when I have time.) _

_ Anyways, while we were watching the turtleducks do their tricks, I cautiously brought up our elaborate scheme to get Zuko and Sokka together. _

_ Azula seemed interested, though I’m just basing that off of her arching an eyebrow and saying “Oh?” _

_ Later, Ty Lee told me that Azula had come to her with some very in-depth schemes to make the two Local Idiots become One Combined Idiot. _

_ Or something like that. _

_ I’m both terrified and interested to see what her ideas are. Will keep you updated. _

_ — _

**_Fourth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ I realize this is probably not what my therapist had in mind when she told me to keep a diary. I think this was supposed to be for recording my feelings. _

_ But what am I supposed to do when my life is consumed by getting Zuko and Sokka together? _

_ I talked to the aforementioned therapist today. The entire session was me ranting about these two, and she suggested that maybe there’s some deeper meaning behind my interest. Like maybe I have my own romantic interest I’m not aware of. _

_ That’s ridiculous. _

_ Also today, Azula invited me to spar. No bending. I kicked her ass to Ba Sing Se and back, but I think I gave her quite the workout, because she was panting very heavily at the end, and her face was super flushed. I felt the same way— like, flushed throughout my entire body. _

_ Guess we’re good sparring partners, huh? _

_ — _

**_Sixth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ My biggest issue in trying to set Zuko and Sokka up? Zuko is ridiculously busy. The man doesn’t have a free moment on his calendar. The five day work week? Just an imaginary concept to him.  _

_ Sokka is decidedly not busy, though he likes to pretend he is. He’s taken it upon himself to do some research project with Mai in regards to the Ozai minions being sent to kill Zuko. _

_ Which, by the way, there was technically an assassination attempt today. But it was absolutely garbage and not worth mentioning. I literally laughed as I arrested him. _

_ Anyways, I’ve been told by numerous sources that Zuko has been too busy to even interact with  _ ~~_ Zuko _ ~~ _ Sokka. I mean Sokka. Something about some big, upcoming meeting with all of the various governors and regional leaders from the Fire Nation about to descend upon the capitol and make their greedy little requests. _

_ Or, at least that’s what Azula told me when we sparred today. _

_ Luckily, Azula also told me about some upcoming festival down by the port. Something about some minor religious holiday, but that involves both food and shopping. _

_ With this knowledge, I made my way to Zuko’s office, where I witnessed him doing some breathing techniques (read: trying not to have a panic attack) while sitting among stacks and stacks of paper. _

_ This was all just so perfect. _

_ It wasn’t hard to convince him to take a few hours off this weekend, and to take Sokka to that small festival. Really, it just took me lying and saying Sokka was lonely. That broke him. I think I almost made Zuko cry. _

_ I feel no guilt. _

_ — _

**_Ninth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ Today was the festival. I was sure this would be it. Lanterns, food, local vendors, live music, fire art, the ocean breeze? What’s more romantic?  _

_ Unfortunately, I did not account for how dumb these two are. _

_ Once again, I escorted them as a ‘guard’, even though I was mainly here to monitor the progress. Sokka was ecstatic to take the palanquin down—somehow, he’d never been in one before, and Zuko seemed excited to appease him and take one down to the port, rather than taking a carriage. While I couldn’t see inside the palanquin, I did occasionally hear giggling. _

_ Sadly, not the good type of giggling. More of the ‘I can’t believe I’m riding in this ridiculous thing’ giggling. _

_ Surely, I thought, on the way back up, we’ll get the better, more mature giggling. _

_ The festival was fine at first. Zuko bought Sokka piles of food and some custom jewelry, and they stood on a dock under the lanterns, looking out at the sea as the sun slowly set on the horizon, painting the sky with blues and pinks and purples. It was so romantic. Prime time for a first kiss. _

_ Instead, Zuko and Sokka were having some sort of pun-off. Pun-battle? Battle of the puns? Something with puns, where they were trying to see who could make the better ocean-based pun. They were all awful. _

_ Once again, I reminded myself why I prefer women. _

_ After the sun had set, the two made their way through the festival, when they noticed some sort of fire-walking activity. Well, Zuko didn’t pay it any mind. The man walks through fire on the daily. But Sokka—poor, innocent, Sokka—was fascinated by this concept.  _

_ “Can I try?” Sokka had asked, tugging on Zuko’s sleeve. Zuko looked over before shrugging, handing Sokka some coins. _

_ Sokka had run over, eager to try this. He was bouncing on his feet waiting in line. _

_ Zuko didn’t seem to see any sort of issue. I, in my ultimate wisdom, knew that shit was not going to turn out well. _

_ But, well. What if romance happens because of this? _

_ You never know. At this point in the night, after having to listen to twenty minutes of bad puns, I was truly just letting the spirits guide me. _

_ When it was finally Sokka’s turn, and Zuko watched him take his shoes off? Well, that’s when Zuko realized shit was about to go wrong. _

_ “Oh no,” he mumbled. “Oh, this isn’t going to work out well, is it?” _

_ “Not in the least,” I responded. _

_ He whimpered. The Fire Lord honest-to-Agni whimpered. _

_ And then Sokka screamed. _

_ What happened next consisted of Zuko making Sokka sit on one of the benches as he tended to his burned feet with some burn salve he happened to conveniently have on him. _

_ “You never know who’s going to try and firebend me to death,” he had said as he applied it to Sokka’s feet. _

_ That’s depressing. _

_ “I’m so, so, so sorry Sokka,” Zuko said as he literally massaged the balm into this man’s feet. “I forgot non-benders burn.” _

_ Sokka snorted. “You just said people try and burn you.” And then gave him a pointed look to the left side of his face. _

_ “Technicalities,” Zuko responded. _

_ Needless to say, the journey home instead consisted of Sokka sniffling into Zuko’s robes.  _

_ Which, hey. I’ll take it.  _

_ — _

**_Thirteenth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ Sadly, it seems Fire Lord Zuko has come down with a cold. Which is rather poor timing, as the Descent of the Despicable Regional Leaders commences in just four days, and Zuko really doesn’t have the time to be ill.  _

_ Sokka heard the news while eating breakfast and immediately panicked, grabbing his tea and sprinting to Zuko’s quarters where Azula was already sitting and calmly roasting (figuratively) her brother.  _

_ The way her eyes lit up when we barged through the door was suspicious at best.  _

_ “Oh good, new babysitters,” she said, ignoring Zuko’s mumbled protest. She’d walked up and forced Sokka deeper into the room with a shove. “He’s an absolute child. Have fun!” _

_ And with that, she grabbed my arm and pulled me from the bedroom, leaving a startled Sokka and annoyed and sick Zuko behind.  _

_ Once we were free from the room, she dusted her hands on her robes. Azula looked too satisfied.  _

_ “That should do it,” she said.  _

_ I was shocked. “Did you organize this?” _

_ If anyone was capable of willing a cold into existence, it was Azula.  _

_ “If only,” she responded. “But no, I just took advantage of the situation.” _

_ She turned on her heel and started to walk off, before pausing and looking at me from over her shoulder.  _

_ “I always get what I want.” _

_ That had made my stomach do some weird, jumbling thing. Kinda like after drinking too much good tea. But I just interpreted it as Azula being intimidating.  _

_ Yep, that’s it.  _

_ — _

**_Fifteenth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ An unfortunate accident occurred today.  _

_ While Ty Lee was training her flock of turtleducks, an eagle swooped down and picked up the largest one in its claws and flying away, The turtleduck screaming the entire time. Moegi followed the eagle until it flew over the compound, where the eagle proceeded to drop the turtleduck on the head of one disgraced former Fire Lord, head freshly shaved.  _

_ Unfortunately, the turtleduck was Duckie. _

_ Fortunately, we were able to retrieve Duckie in one piece. Ty Lee was so relieved, I thought she would burst into tears. _

_ — _

**_Sixteenth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ I wish I could say Azula’s plan had worked and that the two Local Idiots were finally a couple.  _

_ But alas, the communication issues had persisted.  _

_ Though, to be fair to Azula, they were definitely closer now. It’s the day before the Descent of the Despicable Regional Leaders and Zuko is actually having Sokka sit with him in his office, allowing him to assist with paperwork.  _

_ This is huge progress.  _

_ Ginormous progress.  _

_ I came to take over from Ty Lee (she was off to continue training her turtleducks, who have rapidly improved, I might say. The one who went on the expedition is recovering nicely.), when I saw the two of them huddled together by the fireplace in Zuko’s office, intensely reading some report from some region where they grow some sort of produce.  _

_ I am not ashamed to admit that I have no idea how agriculture works.  _

_ Zuko was in obvious stress over some aspect of the report— something about taxes? Or money? Or trade? Maybe all three? He was pulling at his hair and mumbling something under his breath about it, and Sokka was holding him. Literally holding him.  _

_ At first, I’d thought we’d won. I thought we’d succeeded at our task.  _

_ And then, Sokka ruined it.  _

_ “You got this, buddy.” _

_ Buddy? You’re cuddling next to the man by a pleasant fire and calling him ‘buddy’? _

_ I hate it here.  _

_ — _

**_Seventeenth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ Well, diary.  _

_ Today is the day.  _

_ The Despicable Regional Leaders have begun their descent upon the capitol. I’ve never seen so many palanquins in my life.  _

_ Azula and I had started the day together on the balcony overlooking the front entrance. She was openly sneering at them as they exited their palanquins, and the leaders only had to take one look at her unimpressed and frankly disgusted face before running into the palace with their tail between their legs.  _

_ “Half of these palanquins are on the verge of falling apart,” she said, her noise in the air. “I don’t know who they think they’re impressing.” _

_ Slowly, I am starting to realize snooty Azula is… attractive? _

_ …  _

_ That’s for me to unpack later.  _

_ (And my therapist. We’re working on it.) _

_ We made our way down to the main hall, Azula complaining about how ineffective and useless almost all of these governors are.  _

_ “Why doesn’t Zuko just fire all of them?” I asked.  _

_ Azula shrugged. “He’s a coward.” _

_ Well, given the past month, I couldn’t really disagree.  _

_ The first day of the event is a bit of a bore, sadly. Mostly just a banquet/gala type thing, and a bored Fire Lord having to make small talk. Which, if you haven’t noticed, Zuko is bad at.  _

_ It’s not that he’s too shy. No. It’s that Zuko has chronic open-mouth-insert-foot syndrome.  _

_ So, like all events, Mai works the room with him. She’s not much better at the whole talking thing, but she can at least scare them into silence.  _

_ It’s effective.  _

_ Sokka had gotten it into his head that word had leaked that Zuko had come down with something, and that tonight, of all nights, when security is at its peak, someone was going to attempt to murder Zuko.  _

_ For one, no one tries to murder Zuko if Azula is present. If they do, they die.  _

_ Second, everyone who hates him is currently gathered together in this room, and all of security knows that this is everyone who hates him. Pulling something would be ridiculous. You’d be the prime suspect immediately.  _

_ But, regardless of these facts, Sokka had decided to also work security.  _

_ He was…. okay? At it.  _

_ Mostly, he got distracted by the meat platter. But still, there was no assassination attempt, so I’ll let him feel successful.  _

_ After the event, Sokka went back with Zuko to his room to ‘debrief’ from the night. I heard from one of the girls guarding Zuko’s room that in reality, he just wanted to use Zuko’s giant tub, and Zuko had just immediately passed out.  _

_ They’re already like an old married couple. It’s heart-warming.  _

_ — _

**_Eighteenth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ Day two of this nightmare has come and gone. Not much to report. I was so fucking busy I can’t even think straight. It’s meeting after meeting and nine million things happening at once.  _

_ Who plans these things? _

_ Zuko had a small breakdown in one of the servant passages, and Sokka had to bring him some fire flakes to calm him down. Apparently, without Zuko’s knowledge, the Despicable Regional Leaders have decided that now is the year to try and marry their children off to the bachelor of a Fire Lord.  _

_ (Hmm, wouldn’t things be different if the Fire Lord got his head out his ass and was in a committed and happy relationship?) _

_ Anyways.  _

_ When I told Ty Lee this, she offered to sic her army of turtleducks on them. Zuko might take her up on it. I think it’s a great idea.  _

_ Later, Azula and I sat in her room and gossiped and drank wine. Not the grape kind. We’ve been doing this a lot more lately. Who really knows why.  _

_ When I asked why anyone would want to marry off their children to a Fire Lord they hate, she’d just rolled her eyes.  _

_ “People will do anything for money.” _

_ “What would you do for money?” I’d asked her.  _

_ She’d cocked her head a bit, considering this, before shrugging. “I’m the richest woman in the world.” _

_ Fair rebuttal.  _

_ — _

**_Nineteenth Day of the Peach Month_ **

_ Third day.  _

_ And diary.  _

_ Oh diary.  _

_ Do I have a tale for you.  _

_ For context, we’d put the whole Idiot operation on hold during this whole terrible event. We’d planned to drag Sokka and Zuko to the theatre next week, and if that didn’t work, force them to go spend some nice and relaxing days at the beach together.  _

_ Literally so romantic, right? _

_ I’d already bought the tickets for the play.  _

_ Because obviously, we were ready to go full romance.  _

_ But the Spirits doth provide and all that.  _

_ It’s the mid afternoon meeting. We’re all in one of the formal rooms. Remember that dreaded Governor and that report about agriculture that had caused Zuko to cry? Maybe? _

_ Anyways, they’re meeting with that reporter.  _

_ And it’s going to shit.  _

_ Absolute shit.  _

_ Zuko looks like he’s about to blow a gasket, the other people present look terribly confused, and the guards are ready to fight.  _

_ The governor is screaming about… I don’t know what. Taxes? Money? Trade? It’s giving everyone a headache, quite honestly.  _

_ It’s important to note that Sokka had been invited to this meeting. Zuko hadn’t provided a reason for the invitation, and no one was going to question their autocratic leader. But yes, Sokka is here, sitting next to Zuko.  _

_ And he is pissed.  _

_ I’ve seen Sokka angry before, sure. But I’ve never really seen him this angry. Like, he looked like he was ready to throw his boomerang at someone. _

_ To be fair, the governor is being awfully personal in his attacks. He hadn’t quite crossed the line at this point, but he was getting close.  _

_ This squabble went on for a while.  _

_ And then. Of course.  _

_ The governor just said ‘fuck the line’ and hopped on over it.  _

_ “Your father’s lesson obviously didn’t stick,” he’d said.  _

_ Oh, when I tell you that room went silent.  _

_ Zuko froze, obviously caught off guard. Which, fair. Because who the fuck brings up his very public punishment at the hands of his abusive father? _

_ The other people present were equally as shocked. There were a lot of gasps and dropped jaws and the like.  _

_ I was just about ready to kick some ass, while also thanking my lucky stars that Azula wasn’t here to commit homicide, when Sokka snorted.  _

_ “Oh, fuck off.” _

_ Everyone paused, and Zuko looked over at him with wide eyes.  _

_ “Excuse me?” the governor responded.  _

_ “I said: fuck off. You’re a piece of shit. Bye. Get out.” Sokka motioned his hand towards the door.  _

_ Zuko was looking at him, his mouth agape. I’d never seen him look so entranced by somebody.  _

_ “You can’t speak to me like this!” the governor said.  _

_ “I think you’ll find I can. Because unlike you, I treat people kindly. And when you do that, you can get away with a lot more stuff. Like telling some unimportant, unsuccessful governor to fuck off.” Sokka crossed his arms. “So? What are you still doing in here?” _

_ “Fire Lord Zuko, your guest cannot-“ _

_ “He can,” Zuko interrupted. “Everyone, we’ll reconvene later this afternoon. Governor, you might as well head home. I’ll be sending your replacement soon.” _

_ “My—” _

_ “Yes.” Zuko had a blank expression on his face, and it’s at this time that I remembered what an amazing asshole he could be.  _

_ The rest of the room seemed to sense this was about to be spicy, and quickly filed out of the room. The governor looked like he was literally about to implode. Like a bomb.  _

_ So I signaled to my girls to escort him out. “Grab his stuff, too. Just get him out of the city.” _

_ They dragged the literally steaming man and hauled him out of the room, leaving just Zuko, Sokka, and me.  _

_ Sokka was still practically vibrating with anger, and Zuko was back to staring at him with wide eyes.  _

_ “He probably would’ve killed you,” Zuko said.  _

_ Sokka shrugged. “He seems like a coward. Bringing up your past—” he cut himself off.  _

_ There was a new tension in the room.  _

_ Zuko blinked a few times, before reaching over, grabbing Sokka, and— _

_ Well.  _

_ Yeah.  _

_ He kissed him!  _

_ Sokka gasped, but eagerly kissed back. I had to repress my squeal.  _

_ Sure, okay, it sucks that the dates didn’t work. There was a lot of effort put into that.  _

_ But if all they needed was some bigoted asshole to figure out they loved each other? _

_ Well, that works too.  _

_ I quietly left the room, giggling as if I were still a teenager.  _

_ From what I heard, they went back to Zuko’s room and.  _

_ Well.  _

_ I’m sure you know.  _

_ Maybe I’ll take someone else to the theatre with me next week. Since I already have the tickets and all that.  _

_ Do you think Azula would want to go? _

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to follow me on tumblr: [bisexual-atla](https://bisexual-atla.tumblr.com/)


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